Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is in Africa this week scouting out the terrain. The UN has 12 peacekeeping operations on the go in the continent. Some, like those aimed at keeping the peace between Israel and its neighbours, have been in place for decades. Others, like the missions in Congo, Mali and South Sudan, are more recent. None is easy.

The bloody war centred on the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, has killed more than five million people – including 102 UN peacekeepers. In total, the UN‘s African operations have claimed the lives of 1,212 peacekeepers.

Why is Ottawa so anxious to reinvolve itself? The answer is largely political. In the run-up to last year’s election, the Liberals calculated that the voters were weary of full-bore wars like the Afghanistan conflict and wanted to return to a time when Canada, through the UN, played the role of helpful fixer.